Hull FC endured a torrid evening in Australia as a historic match turned sour for the Black and Whites and resulted in a 24-10 defeat to Wigan Warriors.

Wollongong’s WIN Stadium was the venue for the first ever Super League clash outside of Europe and around 2,000 loyal Hull supporters made the club proud, but a raft of injuries hindered FC from almost the first whistle.

Starting right winger Bureta Faraimo (concussion) went down within two minutes before Danny Houghton (calf) and Mark Minichiello (ankle) left the field late in the first half.

Faraimo’s absence hurt Hull as Wigan exposed the Black and Whites twice to lead by ten points. FC pulled it back level thanks to a classy try from Fetuli Talanoa and some luck which allowed Jordan Abdull to touch down.

EARLY INJURY: Hull FC's Bureta Faraimo leaves the field in the opening stages with an injury against Wigan Warriors. (Image: SWpix)

Sam Tomkins added a penalty goal before the break to give Wigan back a lead they wouldn’t relinquish, with tries from Ryan Sutton and Ben Flower sealing the win. Minichiello returned but Hull would lose Liam Watts in the second half to a hamstring problem.

It wasn’t the game Hull wanted on the world stage as they produced an average effort but the injuries to key men clearly played a part, while Wigan performed poorly at stages in attack.

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But the positive aspect from the contest is clearly the fact that the attendance of 12,416 shows the concept of taking a Super League game to Wollongong was a success. That crowd was better than any figure for games between the two clubs in the 2017 regular season.

The first half was more bizarre than brilliant as Hull endured three injuries to key men but still somehow managed to go into half-time two points behind.

Hull were hit hard inside the first two minutes when Faraimo went down with a head knock, something which forced Lee Radford to reshuffle his side.

Initially, Danny Washbrook went to the outside backs to fill the void but Wigan were quick to expose the Black and Whites’ right edge on two occasions.

First George Williams’ short ball saw Liam Farrell break free and find Liam Marshall for the score. Sam Tomkins converted before Marshall grabbed his second when neat passing from Oliver Gildart saw the winger race clear, with Jamie Shaul guilty of giving the Wigan man too much space.

Down by ten points and reeling on the right edge, Hull made a change which saw Dean Hadley move to right centre and Jake Connor positioned on the right wing.

Connor would provide an interception which relieved the Hull defence but after Josh Griffin broke free up field, the centre knocked on close to the Wigan line.

The Black and Whites turned the screw when Shaul kicked over the top and forced a drop out but even though Hull didn’t post points on the next set, they were in soon after when neat hands from Marc Sneyd and Shaul saw Fetuli Talanoa dive over in the left-hand corner.

Sneyd failed with the conversion to leave Hull six behind before injuries to Houghton (calf) and Minichiello (ankle) left coach Lee Radford with only one interchange momentarily.

Things nearly got worse when Connor went down with a knock but he carried on. Then Hull somehow levelled the contest up following a grubber kick from Shaul, with Morgan Escare and Marshall colliding and allowing Abdull to touch down.

Wigan went into half-time leading, though, with Watts giving away a penalty for a ball steal and Tomkins added the penalty goal for a 12-10 half-time advantage.

Hull headed out in the second half with Faraimo and Houghton confirmed as not returning but Minichiello and Connor fought on, with the Warriors starting the second half the brighter.

Indiscipline had FC up against it on their own line and it was Sam Powell who provided the short ball for Sutton to crash over from close range, with Tomkins adding the conversion for an eight-point Wigan lead.

Hull showed plenty of courage to keep going and almost hit back when Sika Manu found makeshift winger Washbrook but he was bundled into touch short of the line.

Wigan went close themselves when Marshall kicked ahead for himself but didn’t regather before Hull lost Watts as well to a reoccurrence of his hamstring injury that saw him miss round one.

Hull eventually buckled under the pressure as Ben Flower barged over from close range. The call was originally given as a no try on the field but the video referee awarded the score following clear video evidence.

Tomkins converted to give Wigan a commanding 14-point lead with just over nine minutes left before the full-back and Griffin were sin-binned for punching.

Wigan almost had the last laugh as Sarginson crossed but the try was disallowed due to an offside decision as the Warriors prevailed.